


Nothing to Do With Biology

by thatnerdemryn



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Canon Universe, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jack finds out, M/M, Spencer is Part of the Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26588041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemryn/pseuds/thatnerdemryn
Summary: “I want you to meet Jack as someone who’s more than just a coworker or a friend. I want you to meet Jack as a person who is going to be around for a long time. I want you to meet Jack…” Aaron took a deep breath, his gaze softening with every passing second, “as a man who he can trust, whoItrust, that won’t ever hurt him the way Abby was hurt.”
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Comments: 15
Kudos: 263





	Nothing to Do With Biology

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, hey, hello. SO--
> 
> I have never written for this fandom, but I've been binge-watching Criminal Minds as any normal person has been doing this quarantine and I was _convinced_ that Hotch/Reid is the best ship and I can't say I disagree. 
> 
> That being said, I had a horrible day at work the other day and wrote this in one go. It was super cathartic and really doesn't mean anything besides I really wanted to hug a well cared for kid so I had Reid do it instead. 
> 
> This is definitely not beta read and honestly, I didn't read it over before posting, so all mistakes that are inevitably there are mine and mine alone. Please be gentle <3

The images flashed through Spencer’s mind. He was powerless to stop them. His eidetic memory was a strength, a gift his mother used to tell him. But after what he had seen in New Hampshire, he wished with everything in him that he could return his gift and opt for some other power that would benefit his team. 

Twenty years. Twenty years and at least 35 kids later, they had finally stopped her. It hit harder when the profile wasn’t accurate at first glance, harder still when it involved the safety of children. He was almost grateful that the unsub’s husband broke and could tell them what his wife had been doing for almost two decades. It was hard for Spencer to be grateful when little Abby ran into his arms, tears streaming down her face, asking him why Hotch was taking her mommy away. 

The child didn’t know any better, of course. Birth to the fragile age of ten years old and all she had known was her mother sneaking into her room at night, touching her in ways she may never get to experience the way she should, telling her that secrets like that one were meant to be kept. He wanted to fault Abby’s father for keeping the secret for all of the years he did but Spencer had seen the look on his face when he realized his little girl was yet another victim to the person he had once loved. 

Spencer never had issues with who he trusted. He was intelligent enough to know the signs, privileged enough to have not been taken advantage of in such a harmful way. He was also intelligent enough to know that even though the unsub was no longer a threat to Abby, her adverse childhood experiences would be practically impossible to break free of. The only thing holding him back from breaking was the heat radiating from Aaron’s shoulder. 

His mind trailed to Jack; the brightest, sweetest, most loved child Spencer had ever met, only challenged by Henry who JJ had read to sleep just an hour before. Jack, who was face to face with evil and survived. Jack, who lost his mother so violently and was almost orphaned by a man even the best couldn’t catch. Jack, who Spencer had loved as if he was his own son and had vowed to protect until the ends of the earth. 

“What’s going on in that big brain off yours, Kid?” Derek’s voice snapped him from his thoughts and it was only then that he realized his fingers were twitching on his thigh. He hadn’t felt a craving in months but that was his obvious tell. It wouldn’t surprise him if Derek had already caught on. 

“Just going through the case again. I want to make sure all the details are straight in my head for when we get back and I write my report,” Spencer said with a wave of his hand. Derek leveled him with an almost professional raise of his eyebrows. 

“You’re surrounded by the best profilers in the world, your best  _ friends _ , and you think I believe that?” Derek huffed out a laugh and leaned back in his seat, resting a foot on top of his knee. Spencer rolled his eyes before brushing a fallen strand of hair out of his face. 

“Paperwork is important to some of us, Morgan,” Spencer scoffed, looking back down at the tablet on his lap. The image of the unsub’s happy family, Abby with a grin on her face, caused him to wince. 

“You remember what I texted you at 3pm a year ago. Try again,” Derek challenged. When Spencer didn’t answer, Derek kicked a foot out to lightly tap against Spencer’s neatly crossed leg. “Hey, that was a good case. You did a good job. I know you know this, so what’s getting to you?” Derek could always read him like a book and it made Spencer unfairly uncomfortable a majority of the time. At that moment, Spencer felt just a little relief that someone had caught onto his inner turmoil. 

“I never understand why someone chooses kids,” Spencer confessed. He hated admitting to any faults, even ones that didn’t include the logic he was so fond of. 

Derek laughed, but Spencer didn’t hear much humor in it. “Of course not, you don’t even like kids.” Spencer gaped at him. He didn’t understand why everyone on his team assumed he hated children. He didn’t hate them, he just wasn’t ready for the responsibility that came with having children of his own. He wasn’t about to subject his own child to what he went through or risk the chance that his unwanted genetics be passed down. He wasn’t selfish. 

He shook his head and instead of arguing, he went on. “I mean, behaviorally, I understand the psychological reasoning behind perpetrating on children; the desire for control that adults don’t often submit to, the vulnerability and innocence a child has that no other can possess. I know that statistically, 23% of child sexual perpetrators were victims of their own abuse, but--” The statistics seemed to circle in Spencer’s head like a skipping film he couldn’t turn off no matter how hard he smacked the reel. He felt his nails dig painfully into his thighs. 

His grip only softened when a gentle hand rested on his and familiar fingers slotted in their rightful place. Spencer chanced a glance up at his newly awake seat companion and pursed his lips together. 

“But Mrs. Paretti defied all of those statistics,” Aaron finished for him. He always had a way of understanding what went on in Spencer’s mind when no one else did. It was one of the things that first attracted Spencer to his superior. 

“We profiled a white male between the ages of 30 and 45 who was in a profession where he had access to children that didn’t necessarily give him direct contact. She is a 50-year-old white female who was a stay at home mother ever since she started having kids at age 20. We profiled that he blackmailed these kids into staying silent for so long when all she did was earn their trust and use their kindness against them. It doesn’t--” Aaron squeezed his hand before bringing it to his lips and placing a barely-there kiss against his knuckles. 

“You know better than anyone else on this plane that sometimes our profiles are wrong, Spence.” Spencer nodded even though he didn’t want to agree. He wanted to be angry at science, wanted to figure out exactly why the unsub would do something like this and how the hell she got away with it for so long. He wanted to hug Jack and tell him that if anyone ever hurt him, Spencer would be the first one in line to serve justice in whatever way he saw fit. He wanted to--

“ _ Please prepare for landing _ ,” he heard over the loudspeaker. He buckled his seatbelt with a still shaking hand, keeping the other one laced with Aaron’s. 

Aaron sighed and rested their hands on his lap as the plane started its descent. “Will you come home with me?” Aaron asked, his voice low and laced with tiredness. Spencer immediately felt the guilt wash over him. He knew that cases involving children were hard for Aaron. Jack was his kid, not Spencer’s, by any means. He went to apologize but his mouth snapped closed when Aaron’s question echoed in his mind. 

“We’ll land before 5. Jessica always drops off Jack if we land before 7.” Aaron chuckled at Spencer’s observation and nodded. 

“Yeah, Jack will be there, too.” Spencer wasn’t one to make assumptions. He needed straightforward answers to questions that he asked and didn’t necessarily like reading between the lines. But everything about what Aaron had said was pointing him straight to a new step in their relationship that Spencer didn’t think Aaron was ready for. 

He must have been quiet for too long because Derek groaned and kicked at his leg again. “He’s asking you to meet his son, dufus,” Derek said as if it was obvious. JJ and Emily chuckled from their seats behind him and Spencer cleared his throat before carefully selecting his words. 

“I’ve met Jack.” The collective groan that filled the plane had Spencer’s heart beating just a little faster in his chest. “We’ve all met Jack, don’t sit there on your high and mighty thrones like that isn’t the fact of the matter,” Spencer said, turning to glare at the two women giggling in their seats. 

“Yeah, Kid, you’ve met Jack, we’ve  _ all _ met Jack,” Derek said, leaning forward in his seat. He did that when he wanted his words to mean something so Spencer listened more intently. “But--” Aaron held up his unoccupied hand at Derek, effectively silencing him. Spencer turned his head toward Aaron as the wheels hit the pavement. 

“I want you to meet Jack as someone who’s more than just a coworker or a friend. I want you to meet Jack as a person who is going to be around for a long time. I want you to meet Jack…” Aaron took a deep breath, his gaze softening with every passing second, “as a man who he can trust, who  _ I _ trust, that won’t ever hurt him the way Abby was hurt.” 

Spencer’s stomach fluttered. It might have been the impact of the landing or the relief of being back in the city he called home, but with Aaron’s hand in his, he knew somewhere deep inside that it was from the love he had and was given in just a few sentences. 

* * *

“Daddy, you’re home!” Jack sang as he ran in through the front door and launched himself at Aaron’s waist. Aaron dropped his bag and caught Jack midair, holding him high in the sky before pressing him to his chest. Spencer wasn’t sure his heart could take much more. 

Aaron’s laugh proved him wrong. “I am! Did you have a good few days at Aunt Jessica’s?” Aaron asked, kissing the side of Jack’s head as Jessica sauntered into the room. Her eyes widened in surprise when they met Spencer’s and he couldn’t blame her. It took a bit of convincing when Aaron decided to tell his sister-in-law that his first relationship after Haley was with his 29-year-old subordinate, but Aaron said she could always see the good in people. She must have seen that in Spencer because only a few short months later, she called him Kid when she left a family dinner. 

“He was part-devil part-angel just like he always is. Takes after you, you know, Hotch?” Jessica teased, pulling Aaron into a side hug before sending a wink at Spencer. He smiled back at her with closed lips, rocking back from his heels to his toes. A sudden hand on his chest pulled his attention back to Aaron and, more importantly, Jack. It was Jacks’ small fingers reaching for Spencer to take him from his father’s arms. 

“Pence! You’re here, too! This is the  _ best _ night ever!” Jack exclaimed as he jumped into Spencer’s arms from his spot in Aaron’s. Spencer laughed and hugged Jack tighter than he ever had, nuzzling his face into the child’s neck. He saw Aaron’s fond smile out of the corner of his eyes and knew exactly what he had invited Spencer over that night. 

“Hey, Buddy. Your dad figured he’s too old and tired to put together a puzzle tonight so he brought me along to keep you company,” Spencer teased. He ignored Aaron’s scoff of protest and squatted down so Jack could stand. He brushed his hair away from his forehead before pulling a puzzle piece from behind his ear. 

Jack’s excited squeal was followed by another launching hug. “Can you stay forever and teach me more magic tricks?” Spencer thought his heart stopped at the words, even more so when Jack’s wide, innocent eyes stared into his as if waiting for an answer. 

Aaron cleared his throat when Spencer said nothing to gain Jack’s attention. “Spencer, Aunt Jessica, and I are gonna talk for a moment. Can you go empty your backpack? Then go figure out which puzzle Spencer stole that piece from and bring it out here so we can put it together, okay?” Jack nodded and skipped to his room as Spencer stood. 

“I wasn’t expecting you to have company or else I would have offered to keep him overnight,” Jessica commented, eyes darting back and forth between the two men. Spencer was good at his job and knew a leading question when he was being asked one. 

“I wanted him here.  _ We _ wanted him here,” Aaron explained, reaching for Spencer’s hand to tug him closer. Aaron was saying everything he wanted to say by a simple gesture and use of a plural pronoun and by the look of happiness in Jessica’s eyes, Spencer figured she understood. 

“Jack couldn’t shut up about you two the past few days. It was never ‘I miss daddy’ or ‘daddy plays dinosaurs with me’. It was ‘when am I going to see daddy and Pence again’? Or ‘Pence does really cool magic and it makes daddy laugh’.” Jessica seemed amused at the blush that Spencer felt forming on his cheeks and let out a laugh. “He’s going to be really happy, Hotch,” she said softly, reaching out to squeeze his arm, “I am, too.” 

Aaron pressed a kiss to her cheek and let go of Spencer’s hand to envelop her in a hug Spencer could only describe as familial. “He deserves a little happiness, don’t you think?” Aaron asked, smiling over at Spencer. Spencer nodded in return and laced his fingers behind his back. As Jessica moved toward the door, unwanted nerves started creeping up his spine. 

“You kids let me know if you want me to take Jack on a night you’re  _ not _ working,” Jessica said with a wink as she closed the door. Aaron laughed and shook his head, turning back toward Spencer. His face turned serious too quickly and Spencer cursed himself for not being able to hide his emotions from Aaron anymore. 

“Are you having regrets? We don’t have to tell Jack anything you’re not comfortable with, Spencer, and if you feel like I’ve pushed you into anything you’re not ready for, I would hope you’d let me know--” Spencer shook his head abruptly and rested his palms on Aaron’s shoulders. 

“Turn off SSA Hotchner for a second, Aaron. Let me talk to my boyfriend before his son comes out here and I don’t have a chance to say this,” Spencer said, gesturing toward the couch. 

After he sat, Aaron reached for Spencer’s hand and let out a relieved breath when Spencer laced their fingers together. “Is everything alright?” Spencer nodded and swallowed audibly before clearing his throat. 

“Cases like that don’t usually affect me,” Spencer started, leveling Aaron with a glare the second his mouth started to open. “They never affected me because I didn’t have a child to replace a victim with. I talk a lot of statistics, have a greater intelligence than the average person, that you know, but--” Spencer let out a breathless laugh. “I hide behind those percentages that circle around in my brain. I have a shield of facts and a sword of information that make it easy to file away anything personal a case may bring.”

“This isn’t a game of Dungeons and Dragons, Spencer,” Aaron teased, but there was no heat in his voice. If anything, Spencer could hear the nerves in Aaron’s tone and it calmed him down knowing he wasn’t alone. 

“That kid in there,” Spencer gestured over his shoulder, “he means more to me than I ever imagined. The statistical likelihood passing schizophrenia to my biological child who would suffer just like my mother did was too high a risk for me to consider having one of my own. I knew from a young age that kids were never in the cards for me and you, Jack-- You changed everything.”

“Spencer…” He held up a hand before Aaron could say more. 

“All of my armor, my shield, my sword, was disintegrated the moment you stepped into my life. I have never felt pressured by our relationship. I’ve never felt any regret or worry about risking everything for you and your family. If we--” Spencer couldn’t bear to look at Aaron anymore and opted instead to stare down at their joined hands. It was funny how perfect they fit together. “Once Jack knows about us, I’m there for him. Not that I’m not already, but… This makes it real. This makes it the forever that Jack wants, that  _ I _ want. I don’t want you to do this because of a case that I couldn’t compartmentalize,” Spencer said quickly because he wasn’t sure he would get it out any other way. 

Aaron’s finger pushed up his chin, urging him to look into the eyes he could stare into for hours. “A month ago, I asked JJ how she introduced Emily to Henry as more than just her work associate.” Spencer was surprised by that. He had known the transition had gone easily for them but never considered asking his best friends for help with something like that. He made a mental note to talk to the two about it later. “This wasn’t a rash decision made after a stressful case in order to make you feel better. This is me wanting to take the next step to forever. Do you understand?” Aaron asked, stroking a thumb across Spencer’s cheek. Spencer nodded and unconsciously leaned into the gentle caress. 

Jack’s heavy footsteps had their attention turning toward the hallway just as the pieces of the puzzle in Jack’s hands splayed across the floor. Jack looked up at them as if waiting to be reprimanded, but Spencer moved to the floor and sat cross-legged before them. 

“This seems like the perfect place to start a puzzle, doesn’t it?” He asked as he looked over his shoulder at Aaron. Aaron nodded and took a seat next to Spencer, pulling Jack into his lap. They put together the pieces, Jack recounting the last few days of school with a wide grin on his face, laughter pouring from all of their lips with each new story. Spencer felt like he was home. 

“So, Jack, Spencer and I wanted to talk with you about something,” Aaron said seriously, breaking through the casual energy that had been created. Jack nodded happily as he put the last piece of the puzzle in its rightful spot. He beamed as Spencer ruffled his hair. 

“What is it?” Jack asked, eyeing his father with bright, innocent eyes. Spencer had to push Abby out of his mind. 

“We had a case the last few days and it made me realize that I’ve never talked to you about secrets.” Spencer’s eyes widened as Aaron spoke. “I know that sometimes, I ask you to keep a secret from Aunt Jessica or from your friends, but there are limits to those secrets. Do you know what that means?”

Jack nodded quickly as he looked up at his father. “It means there are some secrets that shouldn’t be secrets?” He asked. Aaron smiled down at his son and patted his on the thigh. 

“Good job, Jack, that’s exactly right. Sometimes, there are secrets that are okay to tell other people. Can you give me an example?” Spencer watched on as Jack thought, eyes narrowing in a way that was so much like his father. 

“If someone does something bad and tells me I shouldn’t tell anyone,” Jack said after a few moments, his voice fierce. Spencer fought the grin that threatened to form on his face. He was so gone for this family. 

“That’s great, Buddy,” Aaron praised, rubbing small circles on his back. Spencer knew that it might be difficult for Aaron to have this conversation with Jack. Spencer didn’t want to think of how Jack might use it, but he didn’t want to think about Jack having to work a case with Aaron either. It was a necessary talk that needed to happen and Spencer knew that. He also realized how much trust Aaron must have had in him to allow him to be present during it. 

Aaron cleared his throat before continuing. “Now, if anyone ever makes you feel uncomfortable whether with their words or with their bodies, that’s a secret you can always tell me, you know that, right?” Jack nodded quickly and peered over at Spencer. 

“Can I tell anyone else?” Jack said softly and for the first time, Spencer heard a tiny bit of fear in his voice. Aaron hugged him tighter and Spencer rested a hand on his arm. 

“You can tell anyone in the family that you trust to tell me, does that sound okay?” Aaron asked. That look of determination spread across Jack’s face again. 

“Does that mean I can tell Pence?” He asked shyly, glancing over at Spencer with a look of adoration in his eyes. Spencer wasn’t sure what he did to deserve it, but he couldn’t bring himself to think about it as a chuckle left Aaron’s lips.

“Do you trust Pence?” Aaron asked. Spencer knew it was implied by what Jack had said and it was clear that Aaron was letting Jack make the decision on his own. There was no prompting, no expectation that Jack put his trust in Spencer, and yet, there he was doing just that. 

Jack nodded eagerly and squirmed his way out of Aaron’s lap and into Spencer’s. “I want to tell Pence all my secrets,” Jack said excitedly, tossing his arms around Spencer’s neck. If he was an emotional person, he might have started to cry when he saw the way Aaron was looking at them. 

“Do you want us to tell you a secret, Jack?” Aaron asked, raising his eyebrows at his son. Spencer’s heart stopped as Jack turned toward Aaron with enthusiasm. 

“You have a secret?!” Jack asked, his voice full of awe. Aaron grinned at the two of them and nodded, reaching out to lace their fingers together. It was the first time they held hands in front of anyone that wasn’t their team and it felt like every puzzle piece in Spencer’s life was falling into place. 

“You know I loved your mom very much, right, Jack?” The boy nodded and perked up at the mention of his mother. Spencer knew that it was still hard for Aaron to mention her and felt a bit of pride at how easily the sentence was spoken. “I will always love your mom, just as much as I love you. And I love Spencer that very same way.” Jack’s eyes widened with excitement as he gazed up at Spencer. 

“Do you love daddy that way, too?” 

Spencer didn’t even have to think as he rested his forehead on Jack’s and squeezed Aaron’s hand tightly. “Yeah, Jack. I love him very much.” Jack seemed to think for a moment before rubbing a hand across his eyes. Spencer had come to know that was a telltale sign that Jack was getting sleepy. Before he could say anything, Jack’s gaze turned anticipatory. 

“Do you love me, too?” Spencer melted on the spot, letting go of Aaron’s hand to wrap both of his arms around Jack and tug him into his chest. 

He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and whispered, “I have never loved anyone more, Jack.” 

The words were the truest Spencer had ever spoken. Statistics could always change based on newly acquired data, facts could become fiction in the blink of an eye, but nothing had ever felt more probable than the chances of forever with the Hotchner’s.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Carif and Junie for letting me scream about CM at all hours of the day and night and also for reading this and telling me it didn't suck aksdjf;laksdjfl;kas
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope this provides a little bit of comfort to you as it did to me <3


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